Two-thirds of adults in Africa do not have an account at a formal financial institution. The 2016
Symposium will offer insights into sustainable business models to drive financial inclusion.
Kigali, Rwanda, October 5, 2016 – Financial inclusion is beneficial to businesses and poor
people in developing countries, in particular to people living in rural or remote areas. Research
shows that access to formal financial services can boost job creation, increase investments in
education, and directly help people living in poverty to manage risk and absorb financial shocks.
Yet two-thirds of adults in Africa, for instance, do not have an account at a formal financial
institution.
Recognizing the urgent need to increase access to and usage of financial products and services,
The MasterCard Foundation will hold its fourth Symposium on Financial Inclusion on October
20-21, 2016. The two-day event, being held in Kigali, will convene global thought leaders, such
as Eldar Shafir, co-author of “Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much,” and Nick
Hughes, founder of mobile money leader M-PESA and co-founder of M-KOPA, who will share
the latest advances in industry practices. The Symposium will cover a range of issues including
how the work of behavioural economists can advance client centricity, methods of creating
long-term relationships with underserved clients, and demonstrations of the business case for
doing so.
“Financial inclusion is essential to improving the livelihoods of people living in underserved
communities, and for advancing a country’s overall economic growth and prosperity,” said
Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation. “Large numbers of people across
the developing world need and want access to modern financial products and services that
work for them. This Symposium is promoting the innovation, learning and sharing of knowledge
that will spur more inclusive financial systems.”
At the Symposium, The MasterCard Foundation will also award its 2016 Clients at the Centre
Prize – a US$150,000 initiative to find and recognize the organizations most focused on client
centricity as a means to enable poor people in developing countries to access formal financial products and services
The prize will be awarded after three finalist organizations present their ideas to the audience,
which will vote for the winner. The three finalists are:
Artoo IT Solutions (India), a digital lending business;
Fourth Generation Capital (Kenya), a lending company focused on micro-entrepreneurs;
and
Hello Paisa (South Africa), a mobile money transfer company working with migrant
populations.
The full Symposium agenda can be found here. To follow the conversation at the Symposium on
Financial Inclusion, follow the Foundation on Twitter @MastercardFdn via the event hashtag:
#SoFI2016.
About The MasterCard Foundatio
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